Time pressures, a skilled worker shortage and communication breakdowns characterize everyday work in
control cabinet manufacturing. Solutions provider Eplan can help mitigate these factors: the new Eplan Smart
Mounting software supports manual control cabinet assembly in a highly efficient manner. It leads
technicians step by step through the installation of DIN rails, cable ducts and electrotechnical components,
and shows where which component must be installed. Supported by a 3D visualization, even less
experienced technicians can recognize exactly where components must be placed. Combined with Eplan
Smart Wiring, cabling can also be precisely displayed.
Premiere at the SPS: Eplan smart mounting
Control cabinet and switchgear manufacturing is under increasing
time pressures and the lack of skilled employees may also be causing bottlenecks in many cases. This is
where Eplan Smart Mounting comes in: the new software—being presented for the first time at the 2022
SPS—leads the way through the entire control cabinet assembly process. It supports technicians in
assembling and mounting all the components in a control cabinet and on mounting panels. Presented in a
user-friendly way and supported by a 3D visualization, the technician immediately recognizes where
components must be placed. Eplan Smart Mounting provides production employees a complete list of all the
work steps to be carried out. It starts with the mounting of DIN rails and cable ducts—as examples—and
ends with electrotechnical components including auxiliary switches and timing relays. The browser-based
application with a central web server doesn’t require any installation and can be used directly in the
workshop, for instance on a tablet computer.
Easy assembly with the right results.
The digital twin in Eplan Pro Panel provides the relevant engineering information—including dimensions,
positioning, drill holes and the type of fastening needed for each component. Technicians can enter
comments about components directly into Eplan Smart Mounting and send them back to the engineering department. This means that the electrotechnical documentation is always up to date—improving
communication across departments.
Another practical advantage is that changes to the project can now be quickly implemented. For instance, if
there have been changes to the customer specifications to add an additional motor circuit breaker or
contactor, the production order can be synchronized—i.e., updated—to the new project. The software shows
precisely where components must be removed or which need to be added. This means tedious manual
document comparisons no longer need to be done, saving time, and ensuring correct results. And if
questions should still arise, Eplan Smart Mounting provides direct access to the interactive schematics.
Better overview and more flexibility for production managers
It isn’t only workers on the shop floor who gain full support. Production managers also get a better overview
and more flexibility—they can see the status of open production orders at a glance. A control system
displays the assembly progress for each component: green means completed, while red means not yet
processed. If there are resource bottlenecks or downtimes, an order that has already been started can easily
be handed off to another employee. In addition, personnel resources can be utilized more flexibly for
different production steps.
Great interaction between assembly and cabling
This isn’t yet the end of the process. The data foundation from Eplan Prop Panel can also be used for
cabling. Using Eplan Smart Wiring means the complete downstream wiring process for the control cabinet
can also be system-based. A uniform interface for Eplan Smart Mounting and Eplan Smart Wiring, as well as
the digital twin from Eplan Pro Panel as the single source of truth, ensure maximum end-to-end data
consistency. The software is naturally compatible with common fully automatic wire assembly machine such
as the Rittal Wire Terminal WT. Prefabricated wires can also be used. The aim is to achieve the highest
degree of automation possible from the initial engineering phase to manufacturing while at the same time
ensuring maximum quality.
